LOWVILLE — Jared Beyer learned a lot last season without playing a down for the Lowville football team. The then junior was recovering from shoulder surgery which kept him on the sidelines for the entire season.

Once again healthy, Beyer is looking to contribute as a running back on the field for his senior year, a slight addition that can do wonders for the Red Raiders offense.

While he couldn’t play, last season, Beyer continued to learn.

“I learned a lot, on the sidelines, about the team,” Beyer said. “I can see a lot how kids react to different situations. So, when I’m in the game I can’t always like zone in on certain kids and see how they’re reacting. So, in certain situations, like if we need 10 yards for a first down, I can see how kids play differently and this year I can build them up if they need encouragement or something.”

Following his injury, not only did Beyer have to recover, he needed to get back into football shape.

“It sucked missing a season, because I sort of lost a whole year of the football aspect, so I needed to tone some of my skills up,” Beyer said. “We worked hard in the offseason and we’re starting to watch film and everything.”

Beyer’s introduction, or reintroduction, to the offense makes for a more dynamic approach. Much of last season’s success hinged on quarterback Chad Bach’s legs. Bach ran for over 1000 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. Coach Josh Coffman is hoping to rely less on Bach’s legs and more on his backfield when it comes to the Red Raiders’ running game.

Beyer will be playing alongside Isaac Lyndaker, the strong fullback from last season who handled much of the team’s running back duties. Beyer differs from Lyndaker in size and skill set — when Lyndaker will use his strength to run the ball straight through the defense, Beyer is more inclined to use his speed and take advantage of holes created by his offensive line.

“I think having an extra weapon at running back is only going to help us,” Lyndaker said. “I think that the more people we have as threats to carry the ball and get yardage, the better the offense the will be and the more we can spread defenses out and the better it will turn out in games.”

Aiding the improved running game will be the offensive line which will be returning three starters and a fourth player who filled in for a few games last season due to an injury.

“We had a real good offseason in the weight room with our offensive line,” Coffman said. “Four in particular have really added a lot of pounds of muscle and have comeback looking pretty big, they’ll be alright.”

Some are stand outs on the offensive line will be Colt Lyndaker who will be moving from left tack to right tackle this season, Gavin Moyer who played mostly at nose tackle on defense last season, John McCollum, Devin Babcock who will be moving to center and Ty Davis who served as a sixth O-lineman in 2018.

The Red Raiders will begin their season on Sept. 6 at home versus Jordan-Elbridge.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.